There's Nothing Too Hard For God

There's Nothing Too Hard For God

‘Ah, Lord God ! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. (Jeremiah 32:17)

When we look at the world with all of its trials, troubles, tribulations and heartaches; we sometimes ask: "Where is God? Why doesn't He do something? Is it that God not able? Is the situation too large or too difficult for God?

The Majesty of God’s Limitless Power
God told Abraham that He was going to have a son in his old age, and Abraham was a little quizzical about it.In Genesis 18:14, God asked Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Later,Jeremiah gives the answer."There's nothing too hard for Thee."

There is no promise too hard for God to keep.
There are over thirty thousand promises in the Bible, and God will keep His Word. If God made the promise, He cannot lie.There is no promise too hard for God to keep.

There's no prayer too hard for God to answer.
Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, "And all things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive." When you ask in prayer and believe you'll receive.

There's no problem too hard for God to solve.
God specializes in things that seem impossible.Now God may not solve the problem the way you want Him to, but there's no problem too hard for God to solve.

There's no person too hard for God to save.
God can save anyone if he'll come to Him.

The Mystery of Man's Limiting Power

Did you know that a puny man can limit Almighty God? There's nothing too hard for God, yet let me tell you how you can limit God and bind the hands that want to bless:

An unwilling spirit- There was a man who was sentenced to death.Some people went to the governor and pled for the man's life.The governor wrote a pardon. The man said," I will not accept it.
The high court adjudicated that pardon is rendered invalid and the man must be hanged if refuses the pardon.

You have the dubious privilege to say no to the Lord.If you're not willing, there are not enough angels to drag you to Jesus.

An unconcerned attitude- In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says,"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: If any man hear My voice, and openthe door,I will come to him... "He has limitless power.

Do you think there's any door that could keep out the glory of God if He wanted to open it? Yet, Jesus stands at the door knocking until someone decides to let Him in.

An unreasonable mindset- If you have an unreasonable mindset, you can use silly,superficial reasoning and say no to God. Some people say:

•" I will not go to church because my mother made me go to church."I imagine his mother made him take a bath also, so now he doesn't take a bath anymore?

•"Well, there are hypocrites in the church."Some lawyers are shysters; some doctors are quacks; and some is counterfeit.But, if you need a lawyer or a doctor, you will find one.And you've not yet burned all of your cash because money is fake.

•I'd like to be a Christian, but there's just so much to give up."Its like saying, "I'd like to be healed,but I don't want to give up my cancer."

The only things God asks you to give up are the things that will hurt you.

An uncleaned lifestyle- Did you know if you harbor sin in your heart,you have limited God and kept Him from answering your prayers (Isaiah 59:12)? Has God failed to answer prayer because He’s weak or can't hear you? No, He doesn't answer prayer because your sins have separated you from Him.

•An unbelieving heart- Now all sin is terrible, but the worst sin is unbelief. Unbelief is devastating (Matthew 13:58).Faith is the channel through which the risen Lord pours His life into you.If you refuse to believe, you refuse God’s entry.

There's nothing too hard for God, but we can and do limit God. Now think, folks, we're pretty foolish if we bind those blessed hands, the hands that want to bless.

How to Overcome Being a People Pleaser by Joyce Meyer

There is only one remedy I know of to avoid being a people pleaser and that is learning to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in all we do. That is one of the most exciting things about being a Christian.

As believers, the Holy Spirit lives inside us. He desires to lead us in everything we do, from how we handle our finances, to the type of job we have, to the house we live in, to what we do or don’t do for others. He does not want to just be involved with the spiritual side of our lives; He wants to be involved with the natural side of our lives too.

I love what Romans 7:6 says: But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]. What Paul is saying is, when we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we experience newness of life—peace, joy and contentment—that cannot be experienced when we live under the “shoulds,” the “oughts,” the obligations and the expectations of being a people pleaser.

It All Comes Down to One Thing…

Motives… Why are we doing (or not doing) something? Are we being motivated by fear, personal gain or a sense of obligation? Are we being motivated by a desire to be in control, accepted or seen? These are all the wrong reasons for doing something. Our motive for doing anything should always be because God has prompted us and we want to please Him. Following the leading of the Holy Spirit means we are motivated by the fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as love, kindness and goodness. What the Spirit leads us to do or not do, He will give us a peace about.

Remember, whatever you and I do, if we will do it as unto the Lord, our lives and the lives of others will be blessed. If you help a family member, do it as unto the Lord. If you visit with relatives, do it as unto the Lord. If you work in the nursery at church, do it as unto the Lord. If you are getting dressed, washing the dishes, driving to work, cutting the grass, or going to the grocery store, do it as unto the Lord.

In other words, with everything you do, do it with the motive of pleasing God. The result will be a new measure of joy and enthusiasm in your life—even in the everyday, ordinary things.

I encourage you to shake off the way people think or feel about you and just begin to do what you feel God wants you to do. If you need strength in this area, and I think we all do, pray and ask the Lord for His grace to follow after His voice instead of the pressures and demands of others. That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things…(Colossians 1:10).

How to Prevent Slipping into Depression

Does your happiness depend on everything in your life being just right? If you think you can't be happy until all your circumstances are right, you will never be happy. We all experience times in life when we feel down for various reasons, but we can't allow our circumstances to control our emotions. Satan seeks to fill our minds with negative thoughts and emotions that cause us to feel down. He is a discourager, and he pulls us down emotionally, spiritually, financially, and in every way he can. But Jesus is our Encourager, and He came to lift us up. He came to give us righteousness, peace and joy, and all these things cause us to feel up!

Everyone experiences times of frustration and distress over unfulfilled hopes and dreams. When things don't go according to our plans, it is normal to feel disappointment. But we must be careful how we deal with that feeling, because disappointmentis the beginning stage of depression. If we remain in a state of disappointment for too long, it can turn into discouragement, despair, and finally depression.
Psalm 30:5 tells us that ...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Things may make us feel sad temporarily, but we must not stay sad. Just as we cannot afford to stay mad very long, neither can we stay sad very long. If we do, Satan takes advantage of the open door and pushes his way further into our lives, bringing more serious problems with him.

Don't Trust Your Thoughts and Feelings

Our number one enemy is emotions. We tend to be led by how we feel, but we must realize that feelings are fickle; they change from day to day! We should be careful not to follow every thought that comes to our mind because our thoughts and feelings don't dictate truth to us. For many years of my life, I experienced regular depression. I would awaken many mornings with a little voice in my head saying, "I feel depressed." I believed this was my own thought, not realizing that it was Satan making suggestions to me through my mind. Later, when God drew me into a closer walk with Him and I began seriously studying His Word, I learned that I didn't have to follow every feeling and thought that I had. I began to speak aloud and say, "I will not be depressed." I learned to put on the garment of praise spoken of in Isaiah 61:3 .
We may not always feel like praising,but a victorious person does not have the luxury of living by feelings.

I've learned that staying disappointed can cause me to start feeling discouraged, which is a deeper problem than disappointment. But I've also learned that you can't be hopeful and discouraged at the same time. So as soon as the devil attacks us with disappointment and we start feeling discouraged, we need to turn to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to fill us with hope. A brief period of discouragement may not have a devastating effect, but long-term discouragement can lead to depression—a very serious problem.

Resist the Devil and Rejoice in the Lord!

Depression is defined inpart as "a hollow; being in a low state; a state of sadness; dejection." The real cause of depression is not where we are, but our attitude about where we find ourselves. It is possible to learn to live on the other side of your feelings. We will always have feelings; they will never go away, but we can make our feelings line up with our decisions. That's why God gives us the fruit of self-control. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil, and we must also resist depression, and anything that resembles it, because it is of the devil. Philippians 4:4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!

If we stay filled with the right thing, the wrong thing has no place.
If you don't let the devil impress you with what he does, then he can't oppress you; and if he can't oppress you, then he can't depress you. So choose to be led by the Holy Spirit and you can have victory over depression. We can choose to keep a hopeful attitude by renewing our minds with the promises found in God's Word. We can claim the promises as our own and stand in faith, believing God to help us overcome our feelings and move forward into better things. We can't control all of our circumstances, but we don't have to let what happens today ruin tomorrow. We can actually turn things around by making a decision to let go of the situations that caused the disappointment and discouragement, and move toward the good things God has planned for our future.

Many people are depressed because they can't face truth, but the Holy Spirit came to reveal truth to us. We can't get past depression until we quit making excuses and blaming everyone else. We must face the truth and take responsibility for our actions. When we do that and ask God to help us, the spirit of heaviness leaves us and we feel light and free. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:30 , ...My burden is light and easy to be borne . Being depressed about circumstances does not change them, and it is a total waste of time and a thief of joy. So we must stop letting our feelings,mind, body, and past experiences rule us and allow God to give us a fresh plan, a new idea, a new goal! You can experience victory over your emotions by being led, guided,controlled, and ruled by the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to us as our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby to remain with us forever (see John 14:16 ). Thank God, we don't have to be disappointed,discouraged, despondent, depressed or indespair. Jesus is not only the Way, but He is also the way out! Jesus is our healer, our glory, and the lifter of our heads.

By Joyce Meyer